India-US trade deal to boost country’s manufacturing: FM
India and the US have agreed to a trade deal under which Washington will bring down the reciprocal tariff
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday welcomed the reduction in United States' tariffs on Indian goods, describing the development as a major boost for the 'Made in India' initiative. Taking to social media platform X, the finance minister said that Indian products would now face a reduced reciprocal tariff of 18 per cent. "Good news for #MadeInIndia products. They will now face reduced tariff of 18%. Thanking the leadership of PM @narendramodi and @POTUS for this development. People of our two large democracies stand to benefit," she said in a post on X.
India and the US have agreed to a trade deal under which Washington will bring down the reciprocal tariff on Indian goods to 18 per cent from the current 25 per cent. The breakthrough follows a high-level telephonic conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump. In a reciprocal move, India has committed to reducing trade barriers for American goods and significantly increasing imports across sectors, including energy, technology, and agriculture.
Meanwhile, top finance ministry officials stated that the announcement of the Indo-US bilateral trade pact has ended the atmosphere of uncertainty and will have positive implications for the Indian economy amid global problems.
"Today Indian Economy continues to demonstrate strong macroeconomic resilience. Despite a global environment which has uncertainties, a great deal of uncertainty dropped today morning...," Economic Affairs Secretary Anuradha Thakur said in her address to the industry chamber FICCI here. She further said India stands out as a macroeconomically strong country in the world today. The government is further awaiting the details of the trade deal to gauge if India's economic growth will exceed the estimate of 6.8-7.2 per cent in 2026-27, she said. The government prepared its Budget for the next financial year based on the then India-US dynamic that entailed steep tariffs, Thakur said, adding that her ministry is confident of transparently achieving all fiscal commitments laid out in the Budget.
There is also a possibility that India's strong economic momentum may help the government exceed its projections for receipts as well as divestment in FY27, she added.
